Kids Need Vitamin D!

Vitamin D, also known as the sunshine vitamin, is a very important component in a growing child’s diet. Children can receive Vitamin D naturally from direct exposure to sunlight, which is created from the cholesterol in naked skin that has been exposed to the sun’s rays. The sunlight stimulates Vitamin D production in the skin, hence its nickname. However, direct sun exposure increases the risk of skin cancer, so it is recommended to use sun block when going outside for prolonged periods of time even though it decreases the body’s ability to create Vitamin D. It is suggested that 10 – 15 minutes of sunlight exposure at a time for a few times a week should be sufficient.

If you live in an area that has limited amounts of sunlight, taking Vitamin D supplements or foods that are fortified with Vitamin D is very important. Vitamin D deficiency has been known to increase the risk of getting a wide range of medical diseases that include multiple sclerosis, cancer, juvenile diabetes and rickets. Vitamin D, which is involved in the absorption of Calcium, is vital in growing strong and healthy bones in children. Without sufficient Vitamin D, children become a great risk of developing rickets, a bone disease that can cause severe bowing of a child’s legs, swelling of wrists and ankles, and failure to thrive or poor weight gain. The lack of this sunshine vitamin has also been correlated with weight problems or obesity.

Studies conducted have shown that children with a lack of Vitamin D also lead unhealthy lifestyles.[1] Their diets did not consist of the necessary amounts of Vitamin D, stayed indoors watching television or playing video games, and exercised little, but snacked a lot. They were often hefty and overweight. Infants are also the ones most at risk for Vitamin D deficiency, especially those who are breast fed.

In 2008, researchers at Children’s Hospital in Boston found that 40% of 380 otherwise healthy babies and toddlers had "suboptimal" exposure to vitamin D.[2] Babies that were breast fed lacked Vitamin D because their mothers lacked Vitamin D themselves and were unable to pass on the nutrients to their babies. With the recent increase of Vitamin D deficient children, The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) says it is doubling the number of Vitamin D intake from 200 IU (international units) to 400IU per day now. Vitamin D’s importance in promoting calcium absorption and bone health, and possibly decreasing chances of chronic medical conditions in the future, has doctors worrying about children’s health.

If students do not get enough Vitamin D from sun exposure, there are ways they can still get Vitamin D from their foods or from Vitamin D supplements. Drinking milk, soy milk, or orange juice fortified with Vitamin D is one way to include Vitamin D in their daily diets. Other foods include oily, cold-water fish, such as salmon, trout, yellowtail or halibut, or seafood, such as oyster, shrimps and other crustaceans. If fish or milk is not something your child eats, then taking Calcium with Vitamin D supplements or multivitamins are good choices for your children, which you can find at http://www.buychildrensvitamins.com/multivitamins-and-multiminerals.html or http://www.buychildrensvitamins.com/vitamin-d-calcium.html.

Resources Used:

[1] Mittelstaedt, Martin. “Lack of Vitamin D in kids linked to risks later in life”. The Globe and Mail. 15 May 2009.

[2] Kingsbury, Kathleen. “Kids aren’t getting enough Vitamin D.” Time. 13 October 2008.